


I Know Places

by Compactor



Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Alternate Universe, Canon Related, Established Relationship, F/M, Marriage, Non-Explicit Sex, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-04-04 11:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 13,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4135878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Compactor/pseuds/Compactor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a 30 Days OTP Challenge for Duke and Jennifer because I have a lot of feels and we don't have enough fanfics of them. Some of the ficlets are set during Haven 'verse and some of them are set on some kind of AU I could come up with. The title is "I Know Places" because I was listening to Taylor Swift while I wrote this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set during early S4, between "Fallout" and "Survivors".

Jennifer didn't have much of a life after her mother passed away. Her day was basically working the whole day, being the first one to get to the office and being the last one to leave it, go home and finish whatever work Jennifer wasn't able to get done during the day and then, then she'd start to get ready for the next day. It was easier and simpler than dealing with her own problems.

Sure, Jennifer had a few friends when she was in high school and dated a few guys here and there, even. The thing was, her relationships never seemed to work the way they were supposed to and it seemed like as she and her friends grew up, they also grew apart. She never blamed anyone for that; Jennifer learned that that was how life was like and she was pretty okay with that.

Jennifer had a few friends on the Globe too, but as soon as her Trouble kicked in and she started hearing voices, all of them left her. Probably because they thought she was crazy and as soon as someone heard the word "schizophrenia", they thought about the word "dangerous" and no one wanted to deal with that. It got to the point where Jennifer started believing she was crazy too. They weren't that good of friends, Jennifer realized when she finally stopped to think about it.

It had been two weeks since she got to Haven and learned whole new things, it was still hard to accept that she wasn't crazy and that Jennifer was, in fact, Troubled and Haven being Haven, that was completely normal. It was a little hard to believe she wasn't crazy, but she was getting there.

The Gull was busier and more crowded than Jennifer expected it to be. According to Duke, the place was always like during the night, specially if it was a Taco Tuesday. When Duke invited her to go downstairs and do something other than trying to be a Barn radio and helping them to find Audrey, she didn't hesitate. Socializing with some of the locals and hearing some of Haven's stories about the Troubles turned out to be the funniest thing Jennifer did in months. Jennifer barely even realized it had been a few hours since she saw or talked to Duke and in the meantime, she ended up drinking more than she should have.

Six months or so without alcohol made her resistance to it fly out of the window and it didn't take Jennifer long to get tipsy, let alone get drunk enough to regret the next morning.

Jennifer hadn't noticed Duke approaching her and as soon as Jennifer saw him in the middle of crowded restaurant, her whole face lit up. When he was close to her, she pulled him into her arms and laid her head on his chest and after what it felt like ages, Duke finally gave in and wrapped his arms around her and Jennifer finally looked up at him, staring into his eyes with one of those smiles that reached her beautiful brown eyes. He hadn't seen many of those and it really suited her and Duke wished he'd get to see Jennifer smile like that more often, specially if she was directing that smile at him.

"You're, like, my best friend." Jennifer slurred. It was evident she took more than a few drinks and that she was going to need a little bit of help to get upstairs. Duke wasn't surprised that she drank that much- since Jennifer moved to Haven all she did was try to remember what she heard as much as possible. They desperately needed Audrey and there was too much pressure on her, be it from Nathan or be it from the Guard. Duke could see it was starting to stress her out and maybe he'd have to have a talk with Vince and Nathan; Jennifer was, in fact, a great person and she didn't need that.

Duke chuckled after the words left her mouth. He sure as hell wouldn't be  _his_ best friend and seeing Jennifer getting attached to him  _so_ quickly surprised and amused him. " _I'm_ your best friend? Are you sure about that?"

She giggled and shook her head before starting to ramble, "You are! I mean- you're  _so_ sweet and you're always taking care of those you care about and I really like the idea of someone watching for me and that person happens to be  _you_. I really like you and you- you're my best friend, Duke!"

Jennifer just sort of dropped that bomb and he didn't know what to tell her. She couldn't just say something that like it was nothing. It had been two weeks and he was getting attached to her pretty quickly, too. And then he had to remind himself that they were in Haven and that they didn't have time for any kind of friendships or relationships. Every time he tried, something bad happened. However, he hadn't felt that appreciated in a while and he was willing to try this time. Duke promised he wouldn't let anything happen to her since day one and now he was more than willing to keep that promise.

Duke shook his head and bit his lip, trying to not laugh at her, at the whole situation.

"I think you've had enough for tonight." He wrapped his arm around Jennifer and started walking her towards the exit. "What about we get you upstairs and get you settled, huh?"

"Sounds good."

They could talk about Duke being her best friend later, once she was sober.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually don't have a timeline for this chapter-- the only thing I actually know is that it probably happens during the middle of S4, maybe in Toil and Troubles 'verse, but since we don't have any mention of Duke &; Jennifer and/or Nathan & Audrey having children, I guess I'll have to opt for S4. Some of the things I got from S5.

"Can you, _please_ , stop touching my boobs like that?"

A Trouble was making people switch bodies and watching the results of it were pretty hilarious. Dwight and Gloria's case was the funniest of all of them, Jennifer decided. But then a few hours later, the same thing happened to both of them and suddenly, it wasn't all the funny anymore.

Duke (Duchess? Dukette, maybe?) was spread out on the couch and Jennifer had been watching him for the past half hour and the fact he clearly was having more fun than her and more fun than he _should_ was starting to piss her off. They had been stuck at each other's body for hours and part of Jennifer was starting to believe they'd be stuck like that for the rest of their lives or, at least, until the Troubles ended. And the thought of that was stating to _really_ scared her.

He finally stopped playing with her boobs to look at Jennifer, unable to stop the smug smile from spreading across his face and reaching his eyes.

"Technically, they're _my_ boobs for now and, well, they're kind of awesome so I'm afraid I can't."

Duke's smile faded away when he stopped to take a moment and look at her. She wasn't amused and there wasn't even a hint of a smile on her face. He was used to the Troubles; Duke grew up with them and they had been around since he came back to Haven, on his early 30s. He was used to them, used to hearing terrifying stories about them, hell, Duke had even been hit with a Trouble once or twice. Could have been worse and this one was harmless. Duke sure as hell wasn't going to complain about that.

Duke was trying to light up the room, trying to make her feel better about the whole situation but it wasn't working and it was obvious he was failing. She decided to treat him with silence, which Duke'd agree he kind of deserved it-- Jennifer wasn't used to being one of the victims of the Troubles, she was scared and there he was, making jokes.

"I'm sorry. I know how scared you are, Short Stack but we're not going to stay like this forever, alright? Audrey will... do her thing, whatever that is, and fix us. I promise." He paused before beaming at her, "Besides, I thought you'd enjoy switching bodies with me y'know? Being able to reach things and all that."

Jennifer raised one single eyebrow at him and opened her mouth, trying to find something to say but failing to find the right words. When Jennifer was able to say something, she started rambling, "You know I'm not that short-- and okay, yeah, being able to reach things does come very handy most of the times but that doesn't mean I enjoy having to walk with these things between my legs."

"Excuse you but you weren't complaining the last time these things were between your legs."

"Well, last time I wasn't being forced to walk around with them."

Her words managed to get a laughter out of him. There were two things Duke Crocker was sure he'd never get about Jennifer Mason: her sense of humor and where all that sass came from. No matter what they were discussing about, it always seemed like she knew exactly what to say and how to sass him back. It was almost impossible to win an argument with her, Jennifer was just too good. Whenever they had one of their silly, stupid and not so serious arguments Duke started wonder how many times that mouth of hers got her into trouble.

"Alright, fair enough." Duke said, throwing his arms up in surrender. He waved at Jennifer, asking her to come closer to him. He made some room for her just to have her pulling him to sit on her lap. Duke often had to remind himself he was the small one that time around and Jennifer was definitely taking advantage of that. Not that he minded that, anyways. They'd be fine as long as they could stay together.

Jennifer and Duke stared at each other for a moment before she leaned a few inches down to give him a quick peck on his lips. It was awkward kissing himself, even though Duke knew it was Jennifer inside him and the thought of turning that peck into something else didn't cross their minds because she was pulling away from him as fast as possible, laughing and hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

"How about we don't do this until we're back to normal, huh?" Jennifer laughed against the crook of his neck.

"Let's just say I agree with you on this one."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before starting, I'd like to thank Elegant Soul and DeliriousMess for the huge help they gave me. Seriously, I've been wanting to write a Haven/Grimm AU since forever and the idea of Duke and Jennifer being Wesen and living in this world. And that means no Troubles, of course. 
> 
> You don't have to watch Grimm to understand this, but here's a few things you should probably know: 
> 
> Wesen: a collective term used to describe the creatures visible to the Grimms. They are the basis not only of the fairy tales that the Brothers Grimm have compiled, but also of the many legends and folklore from many cultures.
> 
> Grimm: a special person who possesses incredible powers such as being able to see the true form of Wesen, even when the Wesen don't want them to. For centuries Grimms have placed it upon themselves to police and hunt the Wesen population and to protect normal humans from the unknown threat around them.
> 
> Woge: the act of changing between human and Wesen form.

Moving to Haven was one of the best decision Jennifer had ever made her whole life. She was born and raised in Boston and don't get her wrong, Jennifer had lovely memories of her childhood and of her parents, great memories of the house but life in Boston wasn't the same as it was when her parents were alive. After they were gone, there was nothing there left for her. Jennifer even got sick of working as journalist (which she used to love) and as soon as she saw the opportunity to move somewhere else and have a fresh start, she took it. 

Haven was different from Boston. It was beautiful, peaceful and quiet, exactly what Jennifer needed in her life when she moved there. Boston, being a big city, was anything but that-- beautiful yes, but the peace and the quiet definitely wasn't there. Too many Wesen related crimes, specially at night and Jennifer wasn't going to stand there and watch what would happen to her. [Blutbaden](http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/grimm/images/d/d8/419-Monroe_woges.gif/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/285?cb=20150425032200) or [Hudjänger](http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/grimm/images/d/d2/322-Hundj%C3%A4ger_woge.gif/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/285?cb=20150517025239) could easily smell her scent from far, far away and everytime Jennifer went outside, she was risking her life. 

When she finally got settled, Jennifer needed to find a job for living and journalism, in small town like Haven, certainly wasn't an option. The Herald was the only newspaper in the whole town and Jennifer might be a great journalist and if she tried hard enough, she could write about pretty much anything but writing for a newspaper _that_ small wasn't her thing. Jennifer was there for a fresh start and opening a spice shop seemed like a great idea; the closest one was at Derry and shye guessed that if it was a matter of life and death, no one would like to drive that far to be healed.

Her family had kept books about Wesen-- Jennifer didn't know if they were stolen from Grimms or if they just were books that Grimms lost throughout history and someone in her family was lucky enough to find them and live to tell the tale-- and books about healing potions and spells through generations. She never saw them around her house while she lived there, Jennifer only found out about their existence once her mom had died and she decided to keep most of her parents thing. So, getting started with her spice shop (Jennifer decided to name it Majes _tea_ , because she _was_ that funny) wasn't exactly difficult. As soon as she had enough money to rent a place, all she needed to do was get everything settled. 

About a month or so after she opened the shop, Jennifer found herself stocking a few of the ingredients on the shelf behind the counter. Business was doing great or, at least, better than Jennifer expected it to be. She guessed people in Haven were indeed _that_ desperate for help because even if Haven didn't have much Wesen related crimes, it did have of disasters related to potions and spells. As she finished stocking the ingredients, Jennifer heard the door opening and then closing. She got up from the floor and smiled at the tall, dark-haired man who walked in. Jennifer had seen him around, Detective Crocker or something like that.

"Hi, I'm Jennifer Mason. How can I help you?" She was looking up at him, a bright beam on her face. Looking closer, he was quite handsome. He leaned on the counter, starting to rub his eyes. He looked tired, pissed and a little lost, maybe desperate; many of the people who walked in there seeking for help had the same expression on their faces and as long as she could help, she was good.

"Duke Crocker." He stopped to finally look at her and her smile managed to soft his features. He almost managed to smile back at her, one that was barely there, but still a smile.  After a pause, he finally started talking, " _Somnu Decus_ spell. Haven't slept in two days, can't feel anything and I think I'm slowly losing my sanity." 

"Wonder what you did to piss someone _that_ much." Jennifer mumbled under her breath as she walked to the back of the store to grab one of the books. She was sure there was something about Sleeping Beauty spell somewhere. The thing about was that it was extremely dangerous and once whoever was cursed with it started feeling one of the last symptoms, it was fatal. Sleeping Beauty  was such an ironic name for it, Jennifer thought. First, they wouldn't sleep for days. That lasted until the last symptom showed up and it could go from three days to two weeks; the longer it lasted, the worse it was for them. Then they'd start losing one of his senses, be it vision or be it hearing. Losing their sanity was the last symptom and not much after that, they'd start to feel sleepy and once they finally gave up and surrended to sleep, it was done. The victims would fall sleep for one hundred years but Jennifer never heard of anyone surviving for that long. 

"Oh, y'know, angry [Hexenbiest.](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/grimm/images/9/9c/422-Juliette_woges.gif/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/285?cb=20150516182121) using her power and all that." Duke waved at her but her eyes were on the book and he doubted Jennifer had heard him, let alone see him. Trusting someone from his kind was a foolish thing and not one of the smartest things he had ever done. They were usually loyal but god help you if you get on their bad side, that was how Duke got himself in that mess in the first place.

Jennifer returned to counter and placed the book there, reading about the ingredients that she would need to get things done. It was pretty easy for such complicated spell, but it'd take Jennifer more than a few hours. That, if he survived long enough. 

As soon as the words Hexenbiest and angry left his mouth, Jennifer flinched a little. It wasn't like she mean to do it because, for a [Zauberbiest](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/grimm/images/8/8e/405-Renard_woges.gif/revision/latest?cb=20150521210302), Duke was a nice enough guy; but her parents had warned her about Hexenbiests and Zauberbiests when she was a kid, always telling her to stay away from them and there she was now, helping one of them. She was a [Fuchsbau](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/grimm/images/d/d0/414-Rosalee_woges.gif/revision/latest?cb=20150323004459), they were weak close to a Hexenbiest, let alone a Grimm. Duke seemed to notice her discomfort and took a step back from where he was standing. 

"Please, just-- just _help me_." Duke wasn't even asking anymore, he was pleading. He was desperate and it wasn't like she could turn him down and kill him. 

Jennifer stared at him for a moment, chewing the inside of her cheek, before nodding.

"Be back tomorrow around four. It'll be ready. Make sure to stay awake."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got the information and the gifs from Grimm Wiki.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place in Toil and Troubles AU. Fifteen years after the Troubles ended, they returned and started affecting not only Duke, Jennifer, Audrey and Nathan but also their children. This universe was my original idea but both DeliriousMess and I wrote pretty much the whole thing.
> 
> By the way, this chapter is really short and I'm deeply sorry.

Like Jennifer, Tom had always been good at finding things. Be it things he wasn't supposed to be finding-- like when he was around for, five and he found his and his sisters' Christmas gifts as soon as Duke and Jennifer was done with hiding them-- or be it things he was supposed to be finding-- Kate was always losing her toys and when that happened she asked him to go find it and in a matter of minutes (sometimes hours), it was right there--.

At first, Jennifer wasn't exactly amused. Kids and their curiosity, that was what Jennifer told herself. But then the whole Christmas, birthdays incidents kept happening even if Jennifer was always changing the hiding places; the kid had always a way of finding whatever he was looking for.  

When Duke asked him about it, Tom told him that, most of the times, he wasn't looking for them. It kept happening and when he realized what he was capable of, Tom started taking advantage of it. Duke laughed at that before saying, "Can't blame you, Buddy. If I were you, I'd be doing the same thing."

Then he turned his attention towards Jennifer, a happy beam on his face, "We've got a very smart young boy here, Jen."

And she wanted to call them both on it, tell them it wasn't the right thing to do (after all, she started to spend a lot of time on hiding all of their gifts) but instead, Jennifer shook her head and softly smile at them. It was funny how Tom was, most of the times, a lot like her but then out of nowhere, it was all Duke.

One night, when Jennifer actually stopped to think about it, things she didn't even remember happening when she was a child started to go through her mind. One of them was her mom kissing her forehead and thanking her for being such a good girl for helping her to find the pair of earings Dad gave her on their first anniversary. A smirk on her face, Jennifer snuggled closer to Duke let herself drift off with the thought that maybe that was just one of the many things Tom got from her.

When Tom was twelve and the Troubles hit Haven again, he ended up having hers, Jennifer couldn't say she was surprised. Terrified for his life, sure but definitely not surprised.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You should read [FMWB2Y](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3934786/chapters/8815285)  
> before reading this. Not like you have to but it'd make more sense.

After Jennifer got her memories back, it didn't take them too long to move in together again; and god help him, because Duke had missed the company. Missed having Jennifer in the mornings, specially during breakfast and during his morning ritual, when it was supposed to be both of them getting ready for the day and making a mess in the cramped space trying to get things done at the same time. Missed getting home from the Gull only to find her either working on one of her stories for the Herald or sprawled on the couch reading one of his books. Missed having her in _their_ room, sleeping on _their_ bed.

When Jennifer was gone, Duke always had missed as a whole and each day without her felt like a lifetime. Jennifer moving back to the Rouge felt almost surreal and even though it had been a few months, Duke couldn't believe he got to have her around again. Sure, he didn't mind staying with her at the bookshop-- Duke was very fond of her family-- and sure as hell didn't mind spending some nights there, but living together and having their own space was a whole new thing and it was great to have their own privacy and do whatever both of them wanted. 

That felt like being twenty-one and finally leaving Haven on the Rouge all over again, except it felt a lot better, having the person Duke loved the most by his side and all that.

Currently they found themselves lying on the couch watching one of those stupid tv shows Jennifer just _loved_. Duke was the one sprawled out on the couch that time around, with Jennifer sitting on his lap and resting her head on his chest, laughing at the jokes. Duke wasn't exactly paying attention to what was going on. He was staring at her, focusing on the curve of her smile and how pleasant the sound her giggles were. He was stroking her forearms and Duke couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. God, he loved her and he was in deep.

Once the show was done Jennifer turned her face to him and left a little peck on his lips before Duke pulled her closer and turned it into a deeper kiss. When Duke pulled away, Jennifer was smiling that beautiful smile of hers as she started running her hand through his hair. After the whole lighthouse fiasco happened, Duke realized he never told Jennifer how much he appreciated her, how much he loved having her by his side. He never told Jennifer that he loved her, that he'd always love her no matter what. After Duke met with her in Boston again, he decided he wouldn't waste any time. Both of them lost too much of that and it felt like they couldn't waste any of it. 

Duke grabbed her hand and kissed it, before intertwining their fingers and looking down at her. 

"Marry me." He blurted out and Jennifer's eyes widened as soon as the words lefts his mouth. She kept opening and closing her mouth, trying to find the right words and figuring what she should say. After her trouble kicked in around two and half years ago, she'd never expect to find love out of that. Jennifer decided to believe she was crazy and that she'd spend the rest of her life alone, with only one friend that lived at California and only saw her when she was in Boston. Jennifer didn't expect to find out about the Troubles, let alone to meet Duke Crocker, move in together and then get into this whole relationship thing again. Usually, her relationships never lasted more than just a few months. 

Jennifer hoped he was being serious about the whole marriage thing, because otherwise she'd be, in the least, upset. It wasn't like Jennifer always thought about it, but Jennifer caught herself wondering how it'd be like being married, specially being married to Duke. How it'd be like being Mrs. Crocker, how calling him her husband would feel like on her lips, how being married and _being each other's_ would feel like.

Duke was biting his lower lip, and Jennifer figured that she had been staring at him with widened eyes for way too long. Making him wait for her answer was like a torture, she knew that much. Jennifer almost could hear him mentally telling himself how much he had fucked up that time around-- t _oo son, too fast_.

 "Okay. Yeah, alright." Jennifer said and her features softened with the thought of a possible wedding. _Their_ wedding. Honestly, Jennifer never thought they'd get that far, but there they were. Slowly, Jennifer started to realize what was going to happen within a few months, maybe a year because from soft, her expression went to something between excitement and anxiety, Duke couldn't figure which.   
  
" _Shit,_ I'm getting married." Jennifer said under her breath before cupping his face on her hands and dropping kisses all over his face. "We're getting married, love. Should I call someone? Like, family and friends." 

"Dunno, should you?" It wasn't like he had a family or friends to call to the first time he got married and it wasn't like both of them made a big deal of it. He and Evi just did what they were supposed to do and that was it, they were married and it was good until it wasn't anymore. 

"Probably. Later, though." She leaned down and kissed him. It was deep, tender and so full of love and it was gone way too soon. Jennifer pulled away from him, not before giving him a peck, and looked at him. "I love you and I sure as hell love this, love being here with you, and don't get me wrong, but I want a ring. I want both of us to have engagement rings. It makes all of this official."

Duke snorted at how much Jennifer was rambling and overthinking. He didn't get her wrong, not at all, actually. He wanted rings, too, to show everyone how much they loved each other, to show everyone that they were each other's and to show everyone how happy they were. He couldn't help himself but snort at how much she was worrying about all of this. They were supposed to enjoy it and he'd make sure both of them did.  "I got everything figured, sweetheart. Now, if you let me, I'd like to show you our rings."

"Have you bought them? Already?"

"Of course I have, Jen. Marrying you has been in my mind for a while."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just don't see Duke doing the whole romantic dinner thing, kneeling and them asking Jennifer to marry him. I feel like that's more Nathan and Audrey's thing than theirs. I totally see Duke's proposal being out of nowhere and completely unexpected and that's how I came up with this.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place in Sweethearts!AU, an Universe where everything is the same, except that Jennifer was born and raised in Haven. Her mom is schizophrenic and because of that, she was hospitalized when Jennifer was six and Vice and Dave, being her uncles, took her in and raised her. Duke's her best friend and they fall in love. 
> 
> This was supposed to be longer, to have more scenes but then again, this is huge already and I'd rather write another chapter with the few more scenes that I want than post something this big.

Their first kiss was a mess. Not a bad mess, a good one. The kind of mess where there are too many hands touching everywhere, but at the same time there weren't and where their hands were touching, wasn't enough. The kiss was tender, gentle and somehow, deep. But it wasn't enough-- both of them so much more. Both of them wanted so much more at that moment.

When they were younger, Jennifer was always telling him how much she wanted to go to the lighthouse. Even though it wasn't so far away from the city lights, she was sure the stars there were brighter, that watching them from there was better. When she told Vince and Dave about that, they (Vince, specially) told her to not go in there, saying the lighthouse was old and that no one went inside there in years and no one knew what the hell she was going to find there. 

Duke wanted to give her that, though. She was his best friends and they had known each other since forever and Jennifer had been there pretty his whole life and Duke felt like he owed her for putting up with him for that long. So he drove they both there, broke and entered and they watched the starts together for a while. Making out with her was unexpected (but sure as hell not unwanted) and just bonus.

  
Jennifer wasn't his first kiss, no, there were plenty of girls before, but it was the first kiss that mattered. From that moment, Duke knew his lips was hers. Duke knew _he_ was hers.

* * *

 

Their _first time_ was a little bit messier. But that didn't come from Jennifer, of course not, it came from him.

He was shaking as he kissed her rougher than the usual, his hands trembling as he ran his fingers through her hair, stroking her face and tracing her jawline. She hadn't done that before, but at that moment, she was the one in control, she was the one who knew what to do-- which was a lie, she was nervous and part of her didn't know what she was doing. Jennifer was just going with it, just doing whatever it felt right.

And it was obvious he was nervous too. Because Duke was scared of hurting her somehow, physically and/or emotionally, scared of not being enough. She mattered more than anything else in the world. Part of him loved her a little bit, part of him wasn't so sure about what he felt-- but Duke sure was willing and looking forward to find out.

Jennifer pulled away from him and flashed him one of the most precious beams he had seen in a while, "Don't worry. We've got this."

And she kept her promise.

* * *

 

"We're dating, aren't we?" Jennifer blurted out of nowhere. They had been doing that, whatever it was, for a while now and she'd like to know more about that. They never talked about it before and the whole situation was starting to bug her a little. She was the kind of person who needed to know exactly what was going on to understand and believe on what was happening. Assuming things just wasn't Jennifer's style and when she did assume things, they turned out to be wrong. 

She never expected Duke to call her his girlfriend, never expected or asked him for public affections, but he still did most of that and it wasn't like Jennifer was complaining, but she'd like to know for sure.

"We are." Duke simply said with no hesitation, "Three months now."

"Three _months_? Are you _counting_?" Jennifer was, to say the least surprised, because well, he was her boyfriend and she liked him a lot, but she never expect Duke to be the kind of person that would care about that. 

"Yeah. Aren't you?"

* * *

 

Making Jennifer company when she was sick turned out to be a lot harder than Duke expected to be. It was more than a little bit hard to convince her that no, she wasn't fine and yes, she needed to lie down and rest and that yes, if keeping her company for days was what would keep her in bed-- or living room couch, for that matter--, then he'd stay there with her the whole week if it was necessary. 

"I might be sick but that doesn't mean I can't kick your ass." Her voice was weak, almost a whisper, and if Jennifer wasn't curled up against his body, Duke was sure he wouldn't hear it. He snorted as soon as the words left her mouth. 

"No, you can't." Duke said and he could feel Jennifer glaring at him, even if he wasn't looking at her, "I mean-- I'm sure you can kick my ass any time, I'm sure of that. But, right now, you can't even stand up to go to the bathroom without feeling dizzy."

  
"You don't know that." Jennifer whined and Duke gave her a peck on the lips, kissing her pout away. Duke was right there when she almost fell on her butt and Jennifer found herself feeling thankful when he decided to kiss her instead of keep talking about it.

Both of them stayed silent for a moment, Jennifer curled up against him while he payed attention to the tv-- The Wizard of Oz had been one of his favorite movies when he was kid (and part of Duke felt like it still was) but like many of the things in his life, he let it go after a while. It was one of Jennifer's favorite, too and the fact she wasn't paying attention to it, the fact she was just hiding her face in the crook of his neck with her eyes closed, sure told him she was _bad_. 

Duke pressed a kiss on her forehead and she responded to him with a whimper, "Do you want me to be the best boyfriend in the whole world and make you some tea? Maybe something to help you with your fever?"

"Do you _want_ to be the best boyfriend in the whole world?"

"I kind of do."

"Then you're allowed to grab me some tea."

* * *

 

Jennifer always used holidays to help him financially. She knew he needed the money, he knew he needed the money-- with his mom coming and going and all kind of bills coming from everywhere- but Duke still wouldn't let himself accept it. He needed to take odd jobs a few times, sure, but it was still better than taking the little she earned from working at the Herald. 

On his 17th birthday, it was one of the few times Jennifer didn't give him money "because she didn't know what else to give him" was one of the most special things he's ever got and kept his whole life. No matter how long it had been (three, five years), Duke always made sure to keep it as good as new and always made sure to wear it regardless of the occasion or whoever he was with.

* * *

 

The day had been more than stressful for Jennifer. With her mom's condition being bad enough to the point where she had to live in a mental hospital, visiting her became about luck. There were weeks where she'd be fine and then, out of nowhere, she wasn't lucid anymore and Jennifer never knew if it'd take just a few hours or a few weeks to her get back to the lucid state again. It was sad and scary to watch her go through that, watch her suffer like that. 

She had fucked up and she had fucked up really bad. Saying the wrong things at the wrong time and that ended up upsetting her mom to the point where the nurses had to ask her to leave the room while they gave her some kind of sedative.

The hospital cafeteria wasn't all that bad, if you stopped to think about it-- or maybe, at that moment, it wasn't all the bad because Jennifer'd rather think about the cafeteria being rather cozy than think about what had happened and how bad she had fucked everything up. 

"Hey." Jennifer hadn't seen Duke approaching her, but then he was sitting across the table, grabbing her hand and giving it a light squeeze, nothing strong enough to hurt her, "That nurse friend of yours called me and told me to pick you up. What happened?"

She just shrugged at the question. What had happened? To be honest, Jennifer didn't really remember. What she did remember, was saying something that upset her mother and then being rushed out of the room so they could give her sedatives. 

"Dunno. Just-- can you take me home?" She was exhausted, both emotionally and physically, and Jennifer didn't want to talk about it. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep. Yeah, that sounded good.

Duke just nodded before getting up and pulling Jennifer up with him. He didn't let go of her hand, intertwining their fingers as they made their walk to the trunk. It wasn't a long drive to the Herald and they got there in a matter of a few minutes. They made their way upstairs, to her room and lied on bed while they talk about all sort of things. It wasn't easy to distract her at first, she was still too shaky by the time they got there, but after a few minutes, Jennifer finally cracked a smile (small one, but still a smile) and that was enough to Duke consider a victory. From there, it just went uphill to Jennifer be as talkative as she usually was.

By the time late evening rolled around, Jennifer finally gave in to the exhaustion and let herself fall asleep. Curled up against Duke's body, with her head resting on his chest. She looked peaceful and happy. Her happiness was all that mattered for him. Duke wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

"I love you." He whispered and god helped him, because he did. He loved her with everything within him and it was the first time he was saying it out loud, the first time he was letting himself admit that and just feel something. Part of him hated saying it when Jennifer was asleep and not hearing him, but it was the safest bet. Maybe he'd build up some courage to say that to her once she was awake. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

It wasn't like Jennifer never wanted to be a mother or never like children. That was a lie because she was very fond of children, specially toddlers, and she sure wanted to have a family someday. And if it was a big one, then better. But that didn't mean she was in a hurry to get married or to have children. The wedding, eventually, happened and it was beautiful. A simple and small wedding at one of the many beaches of Haven. It was summer and the ceremony and the reception were beautiful and Jennifer still remembered exactly how it was.

For their honeymoon, they wanted something different. Neither of them wanted to visit one place and then coming back- they had a lot of plans before everything happened and they had wasted a lot of time already. They wanted to make the best of it while they still could and that's when they decided they'd visit a few countries, finally spend some time together, just the two of them and no one else. Since they started dating, no matter the situation, it seemed that it never was just the two of them. It was like that at Boston and it sure as hell wasn't like that at Haven. A few months before their wedding, Duke and Jennifer finally started to get things set up to their trip. And then, a few weeks later, they finally sat down and talked about the places they'd like to visit; it ended up being a mix between Duke and Jennifer's favorite places. Some Jennifer had heard about it, some she had never heard of until Duke told her about it and some were the ones she visited when she was younger or worked at the Globe. In the end, both of them were pretty happy with their list and she was they wouldn't follow that list- they'd probably find a way and some time to visit other places that definitely weren't on the list.

Children definitely wasn't something they were thinking nor talking about at the moment or any time soon. While none of them could deny wanting a family in the future, and the very few times they even thought or talked about it, Duke seemed to be really scared with the thought of having a little someone who'd be part of him running around, but at the same time he'd smile and the look on his face would be lovely and that made her melt every time.

But then again, the universe always seemed to have something against them. When they found out they were having a baby it was a shock; and just because they were shocked, it didn't mean they were surprised. They have always been very physical the whole time and when they were together, they wouldn't keep their off of each other for nothing in the world, but after the shock was gone, there was nothing but happiness there. When they slept, Duke always found a way to hold Jennifer close to his body and rest his hand on her belly.

At the same time they were taking everything seriously, they weren't. It just didn't feel real- settling down, getting married and then having to get ready for a baby. It was too surreal even for Duke, someone who spend more time in Haven than outside of Haven. When Jennifer finally started showing- which didn't take very long- they started believing that yeah, okay, that was real and it was happening whether they wanted or not. Regardless of that, of being real or not, they were happy and excited.

Jennifer and Duke were always talking about getting a house (even though they hadn't decided if it was better to move with their child to Boston or if it was better to move with their child to Haven; Jennifer'd always pick Haven while Duke'd always pick Boston but in the end, both of them knew Duke'd choose whatever would make her happier), they were always talking about baby's name (Duke was always joking about it, always choosing Bob for a boy, because it's easier to not forget your child's name when he's just Bob, or Poni for a girl because it sounded funny in his head and Jennifer always taking the whole naming your baby thing way too seriously and going with Atsa for a girl and Arthur for a boy; they'd never agree on their name choices but in the end, both of them knew they'd find something they liked).

Duke was the one who brought the gender subject first. They were excited and they sure as hell were happy with the idea of having a child, but they never bothered to bring it up. Everything was good the way it was- they were together and they were doing it, and that was what it mattered before anything else. Duke and Jennifer were watching one of those sappy and awful tv shows they loved and before he realized, his hand softly rubbing her belly. As time passed, it became natural and Jennifer easily got used to Duke's hand always resting there whenever they found time to sit down and do something together.

"So," He started, getting Jennifer's attention, "What do you want?"

"Right now? A shower would be good. Resting, too. You've seen how tired I've been lately, haven't you?" Duke looked at her and searched for something indicating that she was joking. It turned out Jennifer was being serious about that and while he was sure she'd take shower and then rest all she wanted as soon as they were done with that episode, that wasn't exactly what he wanted to talk about. Duke snorted at the answer and then shook his head.

"No, not that. I'm asking, do you want a girl or a boy?"

"Oh." Jennifer never thought or wondered about that, actually. She just knew that she and her husband was having a baby and it was healthy. That was what mattered and she was pretty okay with whatever they baby turned it out to be, "It doesn't really matter. I'd be happy with either. What about you?"

"I want a little girl." He paused, trying to figure out how to say that without turning into a sap. Jennifer was smiling at that and she would never live him down after that, "I want a little girl with your tiny nose and your eyes. Maybe your smile, too. That'd be... amazing."

"Thought you'd want a boy."

"Nah, we have enough Crocker boys around the world and never enough girls. I'd like a little girl better, specially if she turns out to be like her mama."

Jennifer cupped his face and dropped a peck on his lips. She was still smiling, "You're such a  _sap_."

"I am and you're not letting anyone know about this conversation. It'll ruin my reputation."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have more Sweethearts!AU. Sorry for the late update- I have been a little busy

Duke and Jennifer had been friends pretty much their whole lives and trust was just one more of the few things that came with it. Duke remembered it wasn't a friendly conversation, they were arguing about something- something about books, probably. Six years old Jennifer Mason was always reading just because she liked reading way too much and eight years old Duke Crocker not so much, and being the nosy kid he was, he decided to ask her about it.

And they just kind of never stopped talking after that. Haven was a small town and even if they weren't friends and didn't want any kind of contact, they'd run into each other somehow. There was one elementary school, one middle school and one high school, after all.

The boring part about the whole trusting thing, though, was that Jennifer trusted him with literally  _anything._ Duke didn't mind when she introduced him her a few of her friends, didn't mind when she shared her secrets with him but Duke  _did_ mind when she started talking about her crushes.

Duke wasn't sure why, but he just didn't like it. He didn't like hearing about Michael from English class and didn't like hearing about Jason from Biology class, either. They weren't good enough for her and they'd never be. But then again, who was he to judge someone's character? Duke knew he wasn't any better than any of them. To be honest, no one would never deserve Jennifer Mason.

At first Duke didn't know what to call it, but he was sure there was a name for it. Jealousy. That was called jealousy. It wasn't like he could help himself. He really loved her and sometimes he love her even more than just a friend.

* * *

 

No matter how many times Duke tried to deny, Jennifer knew he was a  _sap._ It got to a point where it was ridiculous because she was pretty sure she hadn't been good enough to deserve a boyfriend like him. What was the point of having a first date when they had knew each other their whole lives? Wasn't that point of a first date? Get to know whoever you planned to date with  _better_? And even if they didn't know each other that well, what was the point of having a first date if they had already did way more than kissing?

If you think that's the only point of a first date, Duke had told her, then you're doing it wrong. According to Duke, having a first is about all of that plus spend time together as a couple, not just as friends.

* * *

Soon enough, Duke fell asleep. It was easy with Jennifer curled up against him, heat radiating from her body. The evening was gone quickly, let alone the night. By the time the first signs that the morning had arrived, she woke up to find herself in the same position, except his grip on her was a lot stronger and it seemed like he wasn't letting her go any time soon.

Jennifer didn't know how long she stayed there looking at him, running her fingers through his messy hair and dropping gentle kisses everywhere within her reach. Spending the night at each other's place wasn't unusual, Jennifer was always finding a way to sneak Duke in or finding a way to sneak out. All of those times, no matter how many times it was, Duke'd always be the last one to fall asleep and the first one to wake up. He felt more comfortable being at her place than being at his, but when they did spend the night at his place, Duke'd get up first and (try to) cook her breakfast. Even though his food was awful, he was always trying his hardest to impress her and that, that was very adorable and never went unappreciated.

She didn't know what to do with all that free time and once she was awake, Jennifer couldn't just go back to sleep. Doing whatever she was doing right now seemed like the best option. Jennifer leaned in to drop one more kiss on his lips, and that seemed to be enough to wake him up. She pulled away from him and he was frowning as he rubbed his eyes.

Realization must've hit him, because then his gaze dropped to her and the smile spreading across his face was huge, just like every time he noticed he wasn't alone. Duke yawned as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked and Jennifer nodded.

"Well enough, anyways. Had an odd dream, though."

"What kind of dream?"

Jennifer bit her bottom lip.  _That_ was hard to explain and she didn't know how to explain it. She stayed silent for a few minutes, trying to find the right thing to say. Except there was no such thing as the right thing to say and it was the best to just go with it, "I dreamed you told me you loved me- which, y'know, it's totally fine if you don't. I just- we've been together for a while and that just sort of happens but it's okay if you don't."

Jennifer stopped talking when she realized what she was doing- rambling. It always happened when she was feeling nervous or insecure and she hated it. Duke just laughed before taking her hand and kissing her fingertips, "Not an odd dream at all. I love you too- a lot."

* * *

Her graduation day was a beautiful day for both of them in different ways.

Jennifer looked beautiful and he wasn't sure if it was just  _her_  or just the happiness talking. Duke was proud of her, proud of who she became and who she would become in the future. When Duke finally got to talk to her, hug and kiss her and then tell Jennifer all of that, Duke was pretty sure there was a hint of a blush there as well.

Duke held her tight against his body, then thew her over his should, mumbling something about finally getting to take her away from everyone and something about celebrating. Jennifer, before anyone else, worked very well to be there and she deserved it.

* * *

 

Their fights were getting more and more frequent and Jennifer hated it.

Fighting was a rare thing for both of them and even if they did fight, it wasn't over anything serious. Jennifer wasn't even sure if she could call that fights- it was something silly and they never really  _fought._ They never stopped talking for days, let alone spend days or weeks without seeing each other because they  _wanted._ Their relationship wasn't perfect, no, it was far from that but that's how they made it work. Jennifer guessed they had what they and were they way they were because before all that, there was a friendship there and it worked. It always worked.

But since before her graduation, Duke'd pull away from her and then he'd disappear days, sometimes even weeks but he always came back. They'd start fighting for every single little thing; that wasn't one sided though. It came from her as well. It was like they were doing it on purpose, but in the end they'd always apologize and run into each other's arms again, only to start the cycle all over again. Not that apologies, hugs and kisses made the whole situation better, because it didn't and sometimes wondered if Duke was trying to make her hate him- but how could she do such thing?

They'd get through that, though. They had gone through some rough times before but they always adapted, they were always there for each other no matter what and this time wouldn't be different- Jennifer wasn't giving up on them, on  _him._

* * *

 

They had made plans to the future while they were in high school. Everything seemed to be easier back then, when they didn't know how different reality was. As always, things never went according to plan. Their plans included leaving Haven together, as a couple. But as both of them got older, Duke realized how different things actually were. His life was ruined anyway and there was no way he could get into college, let alone find a respectable job (smuggling kind of ruined that for him), and dragging Jennifer out of Haven with him was just one more excuse to drag her down with him.

Duke couldn't get himself to break things with her. It hurt him and he wanted to keep doing the whole relationship thing, but running her future was off limits. He tried everything- hurting her, disappointing her and still, at the end of the day she'd forgive him. How could someone have that much of faith?

It hurt him to end things with her, but he did it anyways. She didn't expect that and she was shocked it had happened. They had plans and she wanted to leave with Haven with him. Seeing the world was what he wanted for life, wasn't it? And Jennifer wanted to do that with him- then Duke talked about something about college, about how he didn't have the right to take that away from her.

And she tried everything she could to change his mind but when he decided to do something, then nothing in the world would change his mind, not even her. Duke said something about giving her some time to think, that they could try things later and then, just like that, he left.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday. Spent the whole morning and afternoon out and when I finally came back home, the power went out and it only came back around midnight and I definitely didn't feel like writing and again, I wasn't feeling so hot either. 
> 
> This is a thing I've been talking about Elegant Soul for a while and writing about it was way too tempting and I had to give it a try.

Jennifer had seen some of the Troubles. Whoever created the Troubles, they didn't waste time on the bad ones; they were harmful and they could kill ten, twenty people under a minute. It depended on how bad and awful it was. Something Jennifer quickly learned about Haven and about the Troubles, was never to underestimate them and never poke around for way too long because you'd probably get yourself killed. The good ones weren't exactly good either; the good ones were, most of the times, the ones that could harm no one but yourself or that could harm people but (probably) wouldn't get them killed. Jennifer always tried to imagine how living like Nathan'd be like and the thought didn't please her, exactly. It must be awful to live like that but then again, he couldn't feel anyone or anything besides Audrey and that was... that was cute, as awful as it sounded. It was like they were made for each other. All of them talked once or twice and they sure weren't friends but Jennifer often caught herself thinking about that.

She guessed her trouble was harmless, too. It only harmed herself and no one else, in fact, it helped them to bring Audrey back and could be easily fixed with meds and Jennifer counted that as plus. Some of the harmless troubles had been fun too. Like that one when she and Duke switched bodies; and then again, they only realized it had been fun several days later when they were back to their bodies. It did good for her, too, because Jennifer learned that she loved herself at least a little.

The latest harmless trouble wasn't as hilarious, but it was definitely  _fun._ It only affected people that were in relationships and only one person was affected. Whoever was affected was totally brainwashed into stripping and it ran off after they got the stripping done. It was basically a sex trouble and she honestly though  _that_ was a little bit too much but then she had to remind herself that she lived in Haven, and nothing was impossible there.

Duke and Jennifer didn't talk about it, though. Part of her believed it was because their life was surrounded of that already- Duke helping Audrey and Nathan all the time, Jennifer working at the Herald and  _writing_  for the newspaper- and it was impossible to happen to them. Duke'd call that karma, and Jennifer smiled at herself with the thought.

Jennifer liked working at the Herald. Most of the times, she'd describe it was fun and it was a good way of describing it; she had never been the one to sit still for too long and working there was enough to keep her distracted and barely realize she had been sitting at all. The only thing she'd complain though, was that something she had to work way too much. There were days she'd spend the whole afternoon there, and then she'd have to spend the whole evening and the whole night too. Jennifer loved working there, she was thankful she had a job and didn't have to spend the whole day at the Rouge or at the Gull, but it was tiring. Jennifer guessed it was because too much was going on, so they had too much to write about.

That was one of those days.

She was tired and she wasn't on a good mood either. Duke was enough to make her feel better though and every time she got closer to Rouge, closer to home, she beamed at the thought of being in his arms. That was enough to make her a little bit happier. Jennifer went bellow deck and started calling out his name but it seemed like there was no one there but knowing that he'd be home soon made her feel better. Maybe she could get a shower and then cook dinner. She rarely cooked these days. Duke clearly enjoy way more than her so she just left it to him.

Jennifer was making her way to their room when she felt strong arms around her waist and she couldn't help herself but grin at that. Jennifer hadn't heard him moving around the boat but there he was, arms wrapped around her waist and trailing kisses on neck and clavicle. She could feel him against the small of her back and Jennifer couldn't suppress the throaty man that escaped her.

"Hey, _babe_. Missed you." Duke whispered in her ear and then started dropping playful kisses there. She hadn't heard him calling her that since the trouble with that Tyler kid and even then, it wasn't Duke,  _exactly._ That still freaked her out a little, though.

Jennifer turned to face Duke and quirked an eyebrow at him and then, then realization hit her because it was a Trouble, of course it was. The universe always seemed to have something against her or against them. It wasn't fair.

He leaned down to kiss her. Deep, rougher than he'd usually kiss her, but still him. It was like kissing a wall at first but soon enough, Jennifer kissed back. Duke led her to the couch and they sat down. Jennifer was kissing him but her mind was thinking what they were going to do from there because as hot as that was, she didn't want to do that for the first time under a trouble's influence but if she wanted that to run off, then it'd have to happen anyways.

Duke pulled away and got back to his feet, "We should get this started, shouldn't we?"

He noticed the tension between both of them and leaned down again to drop a quick peck on her lips, "I've got this, alright? I'm still me and I  _want_  to do this, okay?"

It was inoffensive and Duke'd be fine. Probably embarrassed after it was over, but fine. She nodded and Duke was back on his feet once again. His hands moved to the buttons of his shirt. Jennifer leaned against the couch, enjoying the show.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back! Sorry for not updating for a month, but mom and I had a trip and I ended up being pretty busy a few days before traveling. And then, then I had a few problems with school (I still have a problem with school) and need to get things solved. I'll try to post everyday or at least make sure I update whenever I have free time. 
> 
> I'm glad I came back, though, and I'm really glad to be posting again. 
> 
> AU where Duke's the grumpy Chief of Police and Jennifer's the tiny journalist who works at the Herald and loves antagonize him. Duke's an ass and doesn't know when a lady is hitting on him. Prompted by DeliriousMess.

The tourist season was coming to an end and the closer it got, the easier it was to notice who was a newcomer and who simply was one of the many tourists Haven got every year during summer. 

Jennifer Mason was one the newcomers that Duke could easily mistake by one of the tourists (the way she got all excited as soon as she heard Haven had such a thing as founder’s day festival was enough to prove it) and that wasn’t exactly his fault– Haven wasn’t one of those places people chose to settle down and have a quiet and peaceful life. Haven was a touristic town more than anything else, and the only ones who were born and raised there and never had the guts to leave.

And even the ones who had the guts to leave came back at some point. Be it because they missed their families or because they got tired of the whole big city routine. 

It wasn’t like Duke didn’t like Jennifer, but saying he was fond of her certainly would be a lie. He just couldn’t decide which situation fit him better. When they tried hard enough to get along, she was almost easy to talk to and the fact she was very smart (possibly the smartest person he has ever met, not that he’d ever tell Jennifer that), never went unnoticed by Duke. She was kind of nice on the eyes, too.  

And as those thoughts crossed his mind, Jennifer walked into his office and as much as the company wasn’t unappreciated (he spent the whole morning stuck at that office because of paperwork), he couldn’t help but scowl at the sudden visit. Jennifer noticed that and she was  _amused_.

“Loosen up a little, would you? That’s no way to talk to the person who brought you lunch.  _Free_ lunch.” Jennifer said as she sat on Duke’s desk, surprised she only earned a furrowed brow from him (maybe he finally became tired of telling her that  _his_ desk was no seat), and placing his lunch in front of him. 

“There’s no such thing as free stuff and specially not from  _you–_ ” Duke dropped the pen he was using to do his paperwork and started fussing over the food to see what she got him: cheeseburger, soda and fries. There was a donut there for dessert, too, and that was cute and very much like her, “– what do you want for all of this?”

There was a pause there as Jennifer chewed the inside of her cheek and tried to figure what to say.

“Well, y’see, not  _much_.” And there it was, Duke thought, and for a moment he actually believed she bought him lunch just for sake of a possible friendship in the future, but then again, she was a reporter and if Duke learned something with reporters through the years, is that they never did anything for free. Everything was for the sake of some story, “The guy who was killed at the marina yesterday? The one who was stabbed? Wondering if you have more information about that– I’m following the story for the Herald.”

“It’s an ongoing investigation; you already know everything you’re supposed to know. Write whatever you need to write based on that.” Duke grabbed and handful of fries and shoved as much as possible inside his mouth and Jennifer couldn’t help herself but snort at the sight. She had the straw in her hands and part of the wrapper was gone, and she was aiming what was left straight at his nose– she blew it and jackpot! It went straight to his nose and Jennifer was trying really, really hard to choke up the laughter but she ended up giving in anyways. 

Jennifer was cackling, actually. Tears in her eyes and all and the shocked look Duke was giving her just made everything worse.  After taking a better look, she couldn’t decide which one fit him better– offended or shocked but she was enjoying what was going on. 

“Aw Chief, you’re no fun.” Jennifer said when she finally stopped laughing, because his expression remained the same and he hadn’t said anything. 

“Leave my office.” And when he finally opened his mouth to say something, was to kick her out of his office. Seriously? It was her turn to look offended. It was a joke. A silly and stupid joke but still a joke.   

“Sometimes I swear you’re a hundred years old. You should act more your age.” She hadn’t moved from her seat but the way he was glaring at her said it all. She sighed before standing up and making her way to the door, “Alright, I’m leaving. But, before I go, we should have dinner. Together. This evening. At my place, probably.”

“Leave.  _Now.”_


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who's back! I'm still incredibly busy but I plan and will finish this! School's been keeping me busy and my muse wasn't doing the thing, so, y'see. It's been hard to get things done, even if I had a lot of ideas. There are two more chapters on the way and hopefully, I'll be able to post them this week. 
> 
> By the way, if anyone still reads this: I'm starting to run out of things to write so if any of you have prompts, I'd gladly accept them and get them written. Please. I'm desperate. Now back to the story.

Their wedding had been a beautiful day.

Choosing one of the beautiful beaches of Haven during Summer for their wedding day had been the right thing and they couldn't have picked a better day and the right thing, they knew that much as soon as everything was set up and at the ceremony, when Duke got to see Jennifer walking down the aisle. Their wedding had been beautiful and at a beautiful place. Both of them couldn't have been happier with how things turned out in the end.

The process of planning a wedding had been stressful, specially for Jennifer, since she was always fussing over every single detail but Duke was always there to help her and calm her down. They wanted to get married as soon as possible and given the short time they had, the normal stress that came with it doubled, and that just made everything harder for both of them. Duke and Jennifer were happy and would always find a way to distract each other. Stressed, sure, but always happy just with the thought of being with each other for the rest of their lives.

At the end of the day, everything was worth it and what they were feeling was indescribable, there was no other way to put it. They enjoyed the reception and enjoyed becoming each other's as much as possible and when everything was a done deal, they were exhausted and maybe something close to drunk, but not quite there yet. They left their wedding party before that happened. 

They'd be leaving Haven early in the morning and as irresponsible as that was, they had no plans of coming back any time soon. Duke and Jennifer made a long list of countries they wanted to visit or revisit and that'd take them a while.  Duke promised Jennifer they'd spend, in the least, a week in each country and maybe more if they liked well enough. Jennifer knew they weren't going to stick to the plan or to the list and they'd end up going to more countries than they had planned to at the beginning. That would take more than just a few months and honestly? They couldn't care less. As long as Duke had Jennifer and Jennifer had Duke, they'd be alright.

After they left the party, they went straight to the Rouge and lied down on their bed. Jennifer was still wearing her dress and she looked gorgeous, even after hours; and Duke almost felt sorry for wanting to rip that dress off of her so quickly and he told her that much. _Almost_ sorry.

Jennifer chuckled at that and how honest he had been about it and just moved slightly to give him a peck on the lips, "Well, if you're saying that _now_ , just imagine until you see what's _under_ the dress."

Her tone and the look on her face went from playful to serious pretty quickly and Duke couldn't help himself but bring her closer to him and kiss her deeply. Her agile hands moved to his and soon enough, Duke was wearing most of his suit: his tie wasn't where it was supposed to be anymore and there were a few unbuttoned buttons here and there.

 Her tone and the look on her face went from playful to serious pretty quickly and Duke couldn't help himself but bring her closer to him and kiss her deeply. Her agile hands moved to his and soon enough, Duke was wearing most of his suit: his tie wasn't where it was supposed to be anymore and there were a few unbuttoned buttons here and there. They pulled away from each other and bumped their foreheads, a beam spread across their face. 

"You have no idea how much I love you and how much you mean to me." She mumbled, coming a little muffled judging by how close their face was to each other's, "I love you  _so_ much."

"We just got married, Jen." From sweet, his smile went to smug and she didn't even need to open her eyes to see it, "I'm pretty aware how much we love each other. How much we'll _always_ love each other."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just needed a little bit of Duke and Jennifer being happy and domestic. Hopefully we'll have more of that. Again, I'm taking prompts since I'm running out of ideas.

Duke was holding Lauren, his and Jennifer's three-year-old daughter and showing her what had happened to the living room's wall. It was a mess of scribbles and Duke was pretty sure who was the one to blame, and when he confronted Lauren about it, all she did was shake her head and insist she wasn't the one who had done it. 

"Well, sweetie, y'see, Momma didn't do this and Daddy didn't do this either." Duke knew she was lying, hell, Lauren knew she was lying, but Duke was trying really hard to not call her a liar. He decided to do this in the less awful way possible and possibly avoid traumatizing her. 

Lauren pursed her tiny lips and took one more look at the wall in front of her before turning her gaze back to Duke, "That art, Daddy. Not messy."

Duke chuckled when those words came out from such a tiny mouth. Where she learned that, he didn't know, but he sure as hell knew he should stop laughing and go back to scolding her. After putting her down and telling her how if she wanted to draw, all she needed to do was them for paper, and they'd gladly give it to her. 

After Duke was done getting Lauren ready for the day and was sure she wasn't doing anything potentially dangerous (she was just watching cartoons), Duke went upstairs to stay with Jennifer for a while and tell her what happened, which brought a chuckle out of her-- and both of them couldn't believe how smart their little girl turned out to. Then, they started talking about since they had to paint one of the walls again, then they might as well paint the whole living room itself. 

Jennifer was far into pregnancy and her due date was getting closer. She wasn't feeling up to anything lately (the fact Jennifer was pregnant with two babies instead of one didn't help much either), let alone painting the whole living room, and since it was _their_ child who made the mess, she made Duke promise he was going to wait for her so they should fix that mess together. It took her a while, but she finally managed to convince him. 

(Deep down, Jennifer knew he was going to end up painting the walls before the twins were born anyways.) 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I updated and I know that. Real life has been getting on the way but I'll try to keep updating this frequently.

It'd be a rare thing for Haven to not be described as somewhere chaotic, somewhere you could never be sure of anything (Jennifer had been there for a few months and one of the things she learned quickly was that Haven was cruel: it didn't matter if your life was going well for a few weeks, months, maybe even years- at some point of your life and in a matter of seconds, it'd go downhill and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it). Sometimes though, Haven had its moments. Peaceful, quiet weeks were always appreciated- specially by those who had been there since the Troubles returned. Their lives had been nothing but chaotic.

Most of the times life would be a mess in Haven, but when people stopped to analyze the whole situation, it wasn't all that bad. Haven itself was just beautiful; and that could come from the sights, from the beaches or simply big part of the townsfolk. Jennifer guessed having a twenty-seven years break wasn't all that bad, all things considered, giving enough time to people's life get back to normal, to people get used with Haven simply being a touristic small town.

Jennifer wondered how Haven was like without the Troubles, without the chaos they brought to the town. In her mind, Haven'd be a great place to spend the rest of your life at and she planned to do so. Nothing could take her away from there and away from there and away from Duke. In Haven, she had everything she could ever want or need, while in Boston she had nothing.

"Do you think Vince and Dave would notice? If I stole you for the day, I mean." Duke was holding her against his chest with one hand and caressing the back of her neck with the other one. One of her favorite things about him was his hands and how Duke decided to use them. Jennifer made a mental note to tell him later. She loved how caring and sweet Duke was to her and honestly? She couldn't ask for someone better.

"Well, let's see: Haven's a pretty small town and I directly work with the two of my bosses. Yeah, I think they'd notice if you decided to 'steal' me for the day." She turned to face him a beam touched her lips, "Why? Got any plans?"

"Not really. I just didn't feel like leaving the bed today and was wondering if I could drag you down with me." Suddenly it seemed like every single one of this employees were sick, having to deal with personal matters or quitting, which left him with lack of people. Most of the times, it'd be fine and he and the rest of his people could easily deal with the problem, but the tourist season was beginning and the Gull was starting to be crowded most of the time. The lack of employees left way more work than the usual for him and Duke spent the whole day inside the restaurant and most of the times he'd get home in the middle of the night, only to find Jennifer asleep. He didn't even remember the last time they spent some time together, just the two of them. By the time the month ended, the easiest way to describe how he felt was knackered.

"That's... cute, I must admit, and I'd love to spend the whole day with you but, you see, I'm an adult-"

"You cried watching Brother Bear last night." Duke tried to make up a valid point, a reason why she should stay home instead of working. The 'I can't believe you're saying this' look he got from Jennifer was enough to tell him how stupid it actually was. Duke knew it made no sense and the way Jennifer reacted to it confirmed it.

"You- that's not the point!" She nearly shouted and tried to get away from him, but the smile on her lips betrayed her, "the point is, as an adult, I have responsibilties and can't stay. Raincheck?"

"Ugh, fine." He finally let her go to get ready to work, according to the alarm clock on his bedside table Jennifer was running late. Sometimes Duke forgot not everyone had their own business and made their own schedule. Jennifer was working for the Teagues for two months and she had missed four days. Duke understood where she was coming from, "But I  _am_  going to take you out for dinner tonight. Deal?"

"Deal." Jennifer leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips before getting up and rushing to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the day. She couldn't wait for what Duke planned.


	14. Chapter 14

Peaceful and quiet wasn't something Duke and Jennifer craved for or something both of them'd seek often. Quite the contrary, Duke and Jennifer knew they'd never get to achieve any of that and giving all the circumstances, they didn't mind much. They were happy with their lives the way it was and wouldn't change a thing. Everything they had definitely was more than they should have gotten in the first place.

First, there were the Troubles. It seemed like no one was allowed to have a break, not even once in a while. If people even thought about it, Haven'd get back for them and rip their heads off. it seemed like no one was allowed to take a break, not even once in a while. If they even thought about it, they'd get their heads ripped off without remorse. Then, they got married and along with that, came their honeymoon, and suddenly not having a peaceful life wasn't a problem anymore. Visiting all the places they wanted and doing a lot more than just sightseeing and not going back to the Rouge- back home- until dawn started to break in. While all of that happened, a child got involved and Duke and Jennifer had to go back to real life and to being actual adults with actual responsibilities. Of course there were quiet days and nights as they traveled from place to place, but they never lasted enough. Duke and Jennifer never truly enjoyed them.

Few years later, Jennifer entered their room and laid on their bed, resting her head on Duke's chest as she wrapped her leg around his waist. She was wearing one of those infectious and bright smile of hers, the kind of smile that could warm up any cold hearted person's heart- if Duke knew Jennifer as much as he thought he did, he'd say she was proud of herself, "Managed to convince Kate to sleep in her room and I don't think she'll be sneaking into Tom's or Laurie's. _Tonight,_ anyways."

Most of the times, they'd be okay with Kate choosing to sleep in one of her sibling's room, specially Lauren's, but since she and Tom were the same age and naturally closer, Kate chose his instead; and instead of sleeping, they'd spend the whole night playing. That was one of the few issues they had with their youngest children and they sure needed to talk about it with them, but both Duke and Jennifer knew it'd stop as time passed.

"Congrats!" Duke said with actual excitement on his voice, wrapping his arms around her small frame and somehow finding a way to pull her closer to his own body, "Do you think this is celebration worthy?"

"Not tonight," Jennifer said Duke nodded for her to keep going, "I think there's something wrong with Vince and Dave's water-they want me at the Herald by seven so I got an early start tomorrow."

"I see," Duke stopped mid-sentence and she realized he was thinking, as if he was trying to figure something out, "we always have your lunch hours. Or the weekends, they're good too; could drop the three of them at the Wuornoses'. Pretty sure they wouldn't mind having them for a few hours and-"

"Y'know, I always wanted a big family." Jennifer started, cutting him in the middle of his sentence and for a moment Duke started wondering what any of that had to do with what he was talking about. He came to the conclusion that nothing- it had nothing to do with what Duke was talking about but for once, he decided to shut up and just listen to what she had to say, "My parents were great and they always tried their best but it was lonely, specially after they died and I was left on my own. Since then, I decided I'd have a big family."

Duke had an idea where that conversation was going. He had no idea where how long that subject had been sitting on the back of her mind, but he decided to go for it, "Do you... want more or something?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" Jennifer scoffed and shook her head at the thought of having one more child. The twins had just turned four and in a few months, Lauren'd be seven. They were growing before either of them could even notice and naturally becoming smarter and better at things. Duke and Jennifer loved being there to watch all of that, but she missed having a toddler around. When they put some thought into it, it wasn't so bad, "You?"

"Maybe," Sure, the idea of raising four children wouldn't even be ten yet'd be, in the least, chaotic, but not a bad idea. Never bad idea. Duke and Jennifer would find a way to make the best out of that situation. Duke knew they could do it and they'd find a way, "Let's just... leave things be, alright? If it happens then fine, we'll be happy and we'll do whatever is necessary, yeah? But if it doesn't, then we'll move on with our lives. We won't get upset over it _or_ blame each other or ourselves for it. Deal?"

"Deal."


End file.
